44 Chapter 2 Work with Files
File Compatibility with Earlier Versions of Office Programs
The Office 2010 programs use file formats based on a programming language called
extended markup language, or more commonly, XML. These file formats, called the
Microsoft Office Open XML Formats, were introduced with Microsoft Office 2007.
The Office Open XML formats provide the following benefits:
● File size is smaller because files are compressed when saved, decreasing the
amount of disk space needed to store the file, and the amount of bandwidth
needed to send files in e-mail, over a network, or across the Internet.
● Recovering at least some of the content of damaged files is possible because
XML files can be opened in a text program such as Notepad.
● Security is greater because the standard file formats cannot contain macros,
and personal data can be detected and removed from the file. (Word 2010 and
Word 2007 provide a different file format—.docm—for documents that
contain macros.)
Each Office 2010 program offers a selection of file formats intended to provide
specific benefits. The file formats and file name extensions for Word 2010 docu-
ments include the following:
● Word Document (.docx)
● Word Macro-Enabled Document (.docm)
● Word Template (.dotx)
● Word Macro-Enabled Template (.dotm)
● Word XML Document (.xml)
The file formats and file name extensions for Excel 2010 documents include the
following:
● Excel Workbook (.xlsx)
● Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm)
● Excel Binary Workbook (.xlsb)
● Excel Template (.xltx)
● Excel Macro-Enabled Template (.xltm)
● Excel Add-In (.xlam)